Hierarchical split of application between cloud and edge

ABSTRACT

The disclosed technology is generally directed to communications in an IoT environment. In one example of the technology, a plurality of module twins that respectively correspond to a plurality of modules of edge applications on a plurality of edge devices are stored. The plurality of module twins individually include metadata associated with the corresponding module of the plurality of modules. A plurality of services is executed, such that the services of the plurality of services are configured to communicate with the modules of the plurality of modules. At least one service to be executed as a further module on at least one edge device of the plurality of edge devices is determined. The further module is caused to be deployed to the at least one edge device of the plurality of edge devices. Execution of the determined at least one service is ceased.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/503,787, filed May 9, 2017. The entirety of this afore-mentionedapplication is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The Internet of Things (“IoT”) generally refers to a system of devicescapable of communicating over a network. The devices can includeeveryday objects such as toasters, coffee machines, thermostat systems,washers, dryers, lamps, automobiles, and the like. The devices can alsoinclude sensors in buildings and factory machines, sensors and actuatorsin remote industrial systems, and the like. The network communicationscan be used for device automation, data capture, providing alerts,personalization of settings, and numerous other applications.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Briefly stated, the disclosed technology is generally directed to IoTtechnology. In one example of the technology, a plurality of moduletwins that respectively correspond to a plurality of modules of edgeapplications on a plurality of edge devices are stored. In someexamples, the plurality of module twins individually include metadataassociated with the corresponding module of the plurality of modules. Insome examples, a plurality of services is executed, such that theservices of the plurality of services are configured to communicate withthe modules of the plurality of modules. In some examples, at least oneservice to be executed as a further module on at least one edge deviceof the plurality of edge devices is determined. In some examples, thefurther module is caused to be deployed to the at least one edge deviceof the plurality of edge devices. In some examples, execution of thedetermined at least one service is ceased.

Other aspects of and applications for the disclosed technology will beappreciated upon reading and understanding the attached figures anddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples of the present disclosure aredescribed with reference to the following drawings. In the drawings,like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the variousfigures unless otherwise specified. These drawings are not necessarilydrawn to scale.

For a better understanding of the present disclosure, reference will bemade to the following Detailed Description, which is to be read inassociation with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a suitableenvironment in which aspects of the technology may be employed;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a suitablecomputing device according to aspects of the disclosed technology;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system that maybe used as a subset of the system of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process for IoTtechnology which may be performed, e.g., by an IoT support service, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding of, and enabling description for, various examples of thetechnology. One skilled in the art will understand that the technologymay be practiced without many of these details. In some instances,well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of examples ofthe technology. It is intended that the terminology used in thisdisclosure be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even thoughit is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainexamples of the technology. Although certain terms may be emphasizedbelow, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restrictedmanner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this DetailedDescription section. Throughout the specification and claims, thefollowing terms take at least the meanings explicitly associated herein,unless the context dictates otherwise. The meanings identified below donot necessarily limit the terms, but merely provide illustrativeexamples for the terms. For example, each of the terms “based on” and“based upon” is not exclusive, and is equivalent to the term “based, atleast in part, on”, and includes the option of being based on additionalfactors, some of which may not be described herein. As another example,the term “via” is not exclusive, and is equivalent to the term “via, atleast in part”, and includes the option of being via additional factors,some of which may not be described herein. The meaning of “in” includes“in” and “on.” The phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in one example,” asused herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment orexample, although it may. Use of particular textual numeric designatorsdoes not imply the existence of lesser-valued numerical designators. Forexample, reciting “a widget selected from the group consisting of athird foo and a fourth bar” would not itself imply that there are atleast three foo, nor that there are at least four bar, elements.References in the singular are made merely for clarity of reading andinclude plural references unless plural references are specificallyexcluded. The term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator unlessspecifically indicated otherwise. For example, the phrases “A or B”means “A, B, or A and B.” As used herein, the terms “component” and“system” are intended to encompass hardware, software, or variouscombinations of hardware and software. Thus, for example, a system orcomponent may be a process, a process executing on a computing device,the computing device, or a portion thereof.

Briefly stated, the disclosed technology is generally directed to IoTtechnology. In one example of the technology, a plurality of moduletwins that respectively correspond to a plurality of modules of edgeapplications on a plurality of edge devices are stored. In someexamples, the plurality of module twins individually include metadataassociated with the corresponding module of the plurality of modules. Insome examples, a plurality of services is executed, such that theservices of the plurality of services are configured to communicate withthe modules of the plurality of modules. In some examples, at least oneservice to be executed as a further module on at least one edge deviceof the plurality of edge devices is determined. In some examples, thefurther module is caused to be deployed to the at least one edge deviceof the plurality of edge devices. In some examples, execution of thedetermined at least one service is ceased.

IoT devices may communicate with an IoT support service to receive IoTservices, either communicating directly with the IoT support service orindirectly via one or more intermediary devices such as gateway devices.Edge devices may include IoT devices and/or gateway devices.Applications on edge devices may be composed from modules.

In some examples, the modules are re-usable, e.g., they do not depend onbeing in a specific environment. Instead, the modules can be used withother combinations of modules, e.g., to form a different application. Insome examples, each module has the “illusion” that it is the only modulepresent, but can communicate with other modules, and with the IoTsupport service or other endpoint. In some examples, communicationsbetween each module in an application, and with the IoT support service,are all conducted according to a common security context. In someexamples, the common security context defines a provisioning service tobe used by the modules.

Many cloud service may operate in IoT hub, including, for examplesanalytics services, portable translation services, logic services,telemetry components service, module management services, and/or thelike. In some examples, cloud services running on the IoT supportservice in the cloud are components in a similar manner that modules inedge applications running in edge devices are services. In someexamples, the services are capable of communication with each other,with other components in the IoT support service, with modules twins,and with modules.

In some examples, some processing and/or computation occurring in theIoT support service may be offloaded to edge devices by changing one ormore services in the IoT support service into one or more modules whichmay then be deployed to edge devices.

Illustrative Devices/Operating Environments

FIG. 1 is a diagram of environment 100 in which aspects of thetechnology may be practiced. As shown, environment 100 includescomputing devices 110, as well as network nodes 120, connected vianetwork 130. Even though particular components of environment 100 areshown in FIG. 1, in other examples, environment 100 can also includeadditional and/or different components. For example, in certainexamples, the environment 100 can also include network storage devices,maintenance managers, and/or other suitable components (not shown).Computing devices 110 shown in FIG. 1 may be in various locations,including on premise, in the cloud, or the like. For example, computerdevices 110 may be on the client side, on the server side, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, network 130 can include one or more network nodes120 that interconnect multiple computing devices 110, and connectcomputing devices 110 to external network 140, e.g., the Internet or anintranet. For example, network nodes 120 may include switches, routers,hubs, network controllers, or other network elements. In certainexamples, computing devices 110 can be organized into racks, actionzones, groups, sets, or other suitable divisions. For example, in theillustrated example, computing devices 110 are grouped into three hostsets identified individually as first, second, and third host sets 112a-112 c. In the illustrated example, each of host sets 112 a-112 c isoperatively coupled to a corresponding network node 120 a-120 c,respectively, which are commonly referred to as “top-of-rack” or “TOR”network nodes. TOR network nodes 120 a-120 c can then be operativelycoupled to additional network nodes 120 to form a computer network in ahierarchical, flat, mesh, or other suitable types of topology thatallows communications between computing devices 110 and external network140. In other examples, multiple host sets 112 a-112 c may share asingle network node 120. Computing devices 110 may be virtually any typeof general- or specific-purpose computing device. For example, thesecomputing devices may be user devices such as desktop computers, laptopcomputers, tablet computers, display devices, cameras, printers, orsmartphones. However, in a data center environment, these computingdevices may be server devices such as application server computers,virtual computing host computers, or file server computers. Moreover,computing devices 110 may be individually configured to providecomputing, storage, and/or other suitable computing services.

In some examples, one or more of the computing devices 110 is an IoTdevice, a device that comprises part or all of an IoT hub, a devicecomprising part or all of an application back-end, or the like, asdiscussed in greater detail below.

Illustrative Computing Device

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of computing device 200 inwhich aspects of the technology may be practiced. Computing device 200may be virtually any type of general- or specific-purpose computingdevice. For example, computing device 200 may be a user device such as adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a displaydevice, a camera, a printer, or a smartphone. Likewise, computing device200 may also be server device such as an application server computer, avirtual computing host computer, or a file server computer, e.g.,computing device 200 may be an example of computing device 110 ornetwork node 120 of FIG. 1. Computing device 200 may also be an IoTdevice that connects to a network to receive IoT services. Likewise,computer device 200 may be an example any of the devices illustrated inor referred to in FIGS. 3-5, as discussed in greater detail below. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, computing device 200 includes processing circuit210, operating memory 220, memory controller 230, data storage memory250, input interface 260, output interface 270, and network adapter 280.Each of these afore-listed components of computing device 200 includesat least one hardware element.

Computing device 200 includes at least one processing circuit 210configured to execute instructions, such as instructions forimplementing the herein-described workloads, processes, or technology.Processing circuit 210 may include a microprocessor, a microcontroller,a graphics processor, a coprocessor, a field-programmable gate array, aprogrammable logic device, a signal processor, or any other circuitsuitable for processing data. Processing circuit 210 is an example of acore. The aforementioned instructions, along with other data (e.g.,datasets, metadata, operating system instructions, etc.), may be storedin operating memory 220 during run-time of computing device 200.Operating memory 220 may also include any of a variety of data storagedevices/components, such as volatile memories, semi-volatile memories,random access memories, static memories, caches, buffers, or other mediaused to store run-time information. In one example, operating memory 220does not retain information when computing device 200 is powered off.Rather, computing device 200 may be configured to transfer instructionsfrom a non-volatile data storage component (e.g., data storage component250) to operating memory 220 as part of a booting or other loadingprocess. In some examples, other forms of execution may be employed,such as execution directly from data storage memory 250, e.g., eXecuteIn Place (XIP).

Operating memory 220 may include 4^(th) generation double data rate(DDR4) memory, 3^(rd) generation double data rate (DDR3) memory, otherdynamic random access memory (DRAM), High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), HybridMemory Cube memory, 3D-stacked memory, static random access memory(SRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), pseudostaticrandom access memory (PSRAM), or other memory, and such memory maycomprise one or more memory circuits integrated onto a DIMM, SIMM,SODIMM, Known Good Die (KGD), or other packaging. Such operating memorymodules or devices may be organized according to channels, ranks, andbanks. For example, operating memory devices may be coupled toprocessing circuit 210 via memory controller 230 in channels. Oneexample of computing device 200 may include one or two DIMMs perchannel, with one or two ranks per channel. Operating memory within arank may operate with a shared clock, and shared address and commandbus. Also, an operating memory device may be organized into severalbanks where a bank can be thought of as an array addressed by row andcolumn. Based on such an organization of operating memory, physicaladdresses within the operating memory may be referred to by a tuple ofchannel, rank, bank, row, and column.

Despite the above-discussion, operating memory 220 specifically does notinclude or encompass communications media, any communications medium, orany signals per se.

Memory controller 230 is configured to interface processing circuit 210to operating memory 220. For example, memory controller 230 may beconfigured to interface commands, addresses, and data between operatingmemory 220 and processing circuit 210. Memory controller 230 may also beconfigured to abstract or otherwise manage certain aspects of memorymanagement from or for processing circuit 210. Although memorycontroller 230 is illustrated as single memory controller separate fromprocessing circuit 210, in other examples, multiple memory controllersmay be employed, memory controller(s) may be integrated with operatingmemory 220, or the like. Further, memory controller(s) may be integratedinto processing circuit 210. These and other variations are possible.

In computing device 200, data storage memory 250, input interface 260,output interface 270, and network adapter 280 are interfaced toprocessing circuit 210 by bus 240. Although, FIG. 2 illustrates bus 240as a single passive bus, other configurations, such as a collection ofbuses, a collection of point to point links, an input/output controller,a bridge, other interface circuitry, or any collection thereof may alsobe suitably employed for interfacing data storage memory 250, inputinterface 260, output interface 270, or network adapter 280 toprocessing circuit 210.

In computing device 200, data storage memory 250 is employed forlong-term non-volatile data storage. Data storage memory 250 may includeany of a variety of non-volatile data storage devices/components, suchas non-volatile memories, disks, disk drives, hard drives, solid-statedrives, or any other media that can be used for the non-volatile storageof information. However, data storage memory 250 specifically does notinclude or encompass communications media, any communications medium, orany signals per se. In contrast to operating memory 220, data storagememory 250 is employed by computing device 200 for non-volatilelong-term data storage, instead of for run-time data storage.

Also, computing device 200 may include or be coupled to any type ofprocessor-readable media such as processor-readable storage media (e.g.,operating memory 220 and data storage memory 250) and communicationmedia (e.g., communication signals and radio waves). While the termprocessor-readable storage media includes operating memory 220 and datastorage memory 250, the term “processor-readable storage media,”throughout the specification and the claims whether used in the singularor the plural, is defined herein so that the term “processor-readablestorage media” specifically excludes and does not encompasscommunications media, any communications medium, or any signals per se.However, the term “processor-readable storage media” does encompassprocessor cache, Random Access Memory (RAM), register memory, and/or thelike.

Computing device 200 also includes input interface 260, which may beconfigured to enable computing device 200 to receive input from users orfrom other devices. In addition, computing device 200 includes outputinterface 270, which may be configured to provide output from computingdevice 200. In one example, output interface 270 includes a framebuffer, graphics processor, graphics processor or accelerator, and isconfigured to render displays for presentation on a separate visualdisplay device (such as a monitor, projector, virtual computing clientcomputer, etc.). In another example, output interface 270 includes avisual display device and is configured to render and present displaysfor viewing. In yet another example, input interface 260 and/or outputinterface 270 may include a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter(UART), a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Inter-Integrated Circuit(I2C), a General-purpose input/output (GPIO), and/or the like. Moreover,input interface 260 and/or output interface 270 may include or beinterfaced to any number or type of peripherals.

In the illustrated example, computing device 200 is configured tocommunicate with other computing devices or entities via network adapter280. Network adapter 280 may include a wired network adapter, e.g., anEthernet adapter, a Token Ring adapter, or a Digital Subscriber Line(DSL) adapter. Network adapter 280 may also include a wireless networkadapter, for example, a Wi-Fi adapter, a Bluetooth adapter, a ZigBeeadapter, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) adapter, SigFox, LoRa, Powerline,or a 5G adapter.

Although computing device 200 is illustrated with certain componentsconfigured in a particular arrangement, these components and arrangementare merely one example of a computing device in which the technology maybe employed. In other examples, data storage memory 250, input interface260, output interface 270, or network adapter 280 may be directlycoupled to processing circuit 210, or be coupled to processing circuit210 via an input/output controller, a bridge, or other interfacecircuitry. Other variations of the technology are possible.

Some examples of computing device 200 include at least one memory (e.g.,operating memory 220) adapted to store run-time data and at least oneprocessor (e.g., processing unit 210) that is adapted to executeprocessor-executable code that, in response to execution, enablescomputing device 200 to perform actions.

Illustrative Systems

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system (300).System 300 may include network 330, as well as IoT support service 351,IoT devices 341-343, gateway devices 311 and 312, provisioning servicedevice 315, and application back-end 313, and module repository 319,which all connect to network 330. The term “IoT device” refers to adevice intended to make use of IoT services. An IoT device can includevirtually any device that connects to the cloud to use IoT services,including for telemetry collection or any other purpose. IoT devicesinclude any devices that can connect to a network to make use of IoTservices. IoT devices can include everyday objects such as toasters,coffee machines, thermostat systems, washers, dryers, lamps,automobiles, and the like. IoT devices may also include, for example, avariety of devices in a “smart” building including lights, temperaturesensors, humidity sensors, occupancy sensors, and the like. The IoTservices for the IoT devices can be used for device automation, datacapture, providing alerts, and/or personalization of settings. However,the foregoing list merely includes some of the many possible users forIoT services. Such services may be employed for, or in conjunction with,numerous other applications, whether or not such applications arediscussed herein. In some examples, IoT devices 341-343 and gatewaydevices 311 and 312 are edge devices, e.g., a connected device otherthan an IoT support service device or cloud back-end device, whereas IoTsupport service 351 is a cloud service and/or device.

Application back-end 313 refers to a device, or multiple devices such asa distributed system, that performs actions that enable data collection,storage, and/or actions to be taken based on the IoT data, includinguser access and control, data analysis, data display, control of datastorage, automatic actions taken based on the IoT data, and/or the like.For example, application back-end 313 may include a device or multipledevices that perform back-end functions in support of IoT services. Insome examples, at least some of the actions taken by the applicationback-end may be performed by applications running in applicationback-end 313.

The term “IoT support service” refers to a device, or multiple devicessuch as a distributed system, to which, in some examples, IoT devicesconnect on the network for IoT services. In some examples, the IoTsupport service is an IoT hub. In some examples, the IoT hub isexcluded, and IoT devices communicate with an application back-end,directly or through one or more intermediaries, without including an IoThub, and a software component in the application back-end operates asthe IoT support service. IoT devices receive IoT services viacommunication with the IoT support service.

In some examples, gateway devices 311 and 312 are each a device, ormultiple devices such as a distributed system. In some examples, gatewaydevices may be edge devices that serve as network intermediaries betweenone or more IoT devices and an IoT support service.

In some examples, provisioning service device 315 refers to a device, ormultiple devices such as a distributed system, that perform actions inprovisioning an edge device to an IoT support service.

In some examples, module repository 319 refers to a device, or multipledevices such as a distributed system, that store modules for deploymentin edge devices (e.g., IoT devices 341-343 and/or gateway devices 311and 312). In some examples, module repository 319 is not used, andmodules for deployment in the edge devices may instead be stored in IoTsupport service 351 or application back-end 313.

Each of the IoT devices 341-343, and/or the devices that comprise IoTsupport service 351 and/or application back-end 313 and/or gatewaydevices 311 and 312 and/or provision service device 315 may includeexamples of computing device 200 of FIG. 2. The term “IoT supportservice” is not limited to one particular type of IoT service, butrefers to the device to which the IoT device communicates, afterprovisioning, for at least one IoT solution or IoT service. That is, theterm “IoT support service,” as used throughout the specification and theclaims, is generic to any IoT solution. The term IoT support servicesimply refers to the portion of the IoT solution/IoT service to whichprovisioned IoT devices communicate. In some examples, communicationbetween IoT devices and one or more application back-ends occur with anIoT support service as an intermediary. The IoT support service is inthe cloud, whereas the IoT devices are edge devices. FIG. 3 and thecorresponding description of FIG. 3 in the specification illustrates anexample system for illustrative purposes that does not limit the scopeof the disclosure.

Network 330 may include one or more computer networks, including wiredand/or wireless networks, where each network may be, for example, awireless network, local area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN),and/or a global network such as the Internet. On an interconnected setof LANs, including those based on differing architectures and protocols,a router acts as a link between LANs, enabling messages to be sent fromone to another. Also, communication links within LANs typically includetwisted wire pair or coaxial cable, while communication links betweennetworks may utilize analog telephone lines, full or fractionaldedicated digital lines including T1, T2, T3, and T4, IntegratedServices Digital Networks (ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs),wireless links including satellite links, or other communications linksknown to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, remote computers andother related electronic devices could be remotely connected to eitherLANs or WANs via a modem and temporary telephone link. In essence,network 330 includes any communication method by which information maytravel between IoT support service 351, IoT devices 341-343, and/orapplication back-end 313. Although each device or service is shownconnected as connected to network 330, that does not mean that eachdevice communicates with each other device shown. In some examples, somedevices/services shown only communicate with some other devices/servicesshown via one or more intermediary devices. Also, other network 330 isillustrated as one network, in some examples, network 330 may insteadinclude multiple networks that may or may not be connected with eachother, with some of the devices shown communicating with each otherthrough one network of the multiple networks and other of the devicesshown communicating with each other with a different network of themultiple networks.

As one example, IoT devices 341-343 are devices that are intended tomake use of IoT services provided by the IoT support service, which, insome examples, includes one or more IoT support services, such as IoTsupport service 351. IoT devices 341-343 may be coupled to IoT supportservice 351, directly, via network 330, via a gateway device (e.g.,gateway device 312), via multiple gateway devices, and/or the like.

System 300 may include more or less devices than illustrated in FIG. 3,which is shown by way of example only.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system 400. In someexamples, system 400 may be employed as a subset of system 300 of FIG.3. FIG. 4 and the corresponding description of FIG. 4 in thespecification illustrate an example system for illustrative purposesthat do not limit the scope of the disclosure.

In some examples, system 400 includes edge device 411, provisioningservice 415, IoT support service 451, and module repository 419. Edgedevice 411 may include application 430, and application 430 may includemodules 431-433. Edge device 411 may be an IoT device and/or a gatewaydevice. IoT support service 451 may include services 471-473 and moduletwins 421-423. Although not shown in FIG. 4, in some examples, edgedevice 411 may communicate with IoT support service 451 through one ormore intermediary devices, such as gateway devices.

In some examples, modules 431-433 are re-usable, e.g., they do notdepend on being in a specific environment. Instead, the modules can beused with other combinations of modules, e.g., to form a differentapplication. In some examples, each module has the “illusion” that it isthe only module present, but can communicate with other modules, andwith the IoT support service or other endpoint. In some examples, eachmodule can act in isolation from each other module. In some examples,communications between each module in an application, and with the IoTsupport service, are all conducted according to a common securitycontext. In some examples, the common security context defines aprovisioning service to be used by the modules.

In some examples, modules twins 421-423 are serve as a “cloudrepresentation” of a corresponding module, e.g., modules 431-433. Insome examples, each module twin is a set of securely isolated primitivescomprising communication and state synchronization primitives. In someexamples, each module twin includes metadata about the correspondingmodule, such as what type of module it is, various information about themodule, as well as relevant information about the device that the moduleis in (e.g., type of device, capabilities, location, and/or the like,where relevant to the module). In some examples, at least a portion ofeach module twin is synchronized with the corresponding module. In someexamples, the module twins are queryable, and can be used in theanswering of queries about the corresponding module. For instance, aquery could be made to determine which smart locks in a room are locked,which smart lights in the room are on, or what the temperature is in theroom, and the relevant module could respond with the appropriateinformation.

Each module twin may have its own separate telemetry channel to itscorresponding module. When modules are added or removed from devices,IoT support service 451 may be updated accordingly by adding or removingthe corresponding module twins, for example, automatically. AlthoughFIG. 4 shows only one edge device and the corresponding module twins forthe modules on the edge device, there may be numerous edge devices, andIoT support service 451 may store a corresponding module twin for eachmodule of each edge device that has been provisioned with IoT supportservice 451.

Services 471-473 may perform various functions in IoT support service451. Services 471-473 may be capable of communication with each other,with other components in IoT support service 451, with modules twins,and with modules (including modules 431-433). Services 471-473 mayinclude, for example, analytics services, portable translation services,logic services, telemetry components service, module managementservices, filtering services, batching services, compression services,machine learning services, artificial intelligence (AI) services, and/orthe like.

Examples of modules may include logging modules, telemetry modules,analytics modules, AI configuration modules, management modules,filtering modules, batching modules, compression modules, sensor readermodules, module communications modules, function modules, and/or thelike. In some examples, each of the modules and each of the services andother elements of the infrastructure all support a “first-class” notionof modules. A “first-class” notion of modules means that the modules andservices recognize what a module is directly without requiringtranslation when a module is referenced. In some examples, the use ofmodules as a first-class notion makes inter-module communication andservice-to-module communication relatively simple, because communicationto a module can refer directly to the module being communicated to. Insome examples, with a first-class notion of modules, modules can bepackaged, referred to, and authenticated, and messages can be sent toand from the modules.

In some examples, each of the modules is independent. The modules can becomposed and distributed among devices in various arrangements withoutrequiring modification to the internal code of modules or of thesupporting services, including among heterogeneous devices. For example,modules can be added and/or removed from an edge application withoutrequiring modifications to the code of any of the modules. Modules canbe used in different configurations in different edge applications,e.g., so that one module can be reused among many different edgeapplications by composing applications from different combinations ofmodules. In some examples, each module has, in effect, the “illusion”that it is a complete application, and does not have to take intoaccount what else is happening on the device. Each module can act inisolation from other modules on the same device. Declarativecommunication can be defined to and from individual modules, for examplebetween two modules and/or between a module and a cloud service. In someexamples, the modules are reusable across application or othersolutions. Modules that compose an edge application may also be built bydifferent parties.

In some examples, an edge application may be composed of modules and anedge runtime functionality. In some examples, the edge runtimefunctionality may itself also be a module. In some examples, the runtimefunctionality may perform module management functions such asconfiguration modules, performing per-module logs and metrics,communication routing between modules and between modules on the cloud,managing offline capabilities of the edge device, assist in thedeployment of modules at the direction of the IoT support service,and/or the like.

As discussed above, in some examples, each module in an applicationshares the same security context. In some examples, this may includeconnecting in a secure way to the same endpoint, establishing a secureconnection with the same secure host with mutual/bi-directionalauthentication, and/or the like. In some examples, the shared securitycontext also includes provisioning with the same provisioning service orprocess. In some examples, there are multiple channels and multiplesessions due to the multiple modules, and each of the multiple channelsis individually authenticated. However, in some examples, the multiplechannels share the same secure connection.

In some examples, provisioning of an edge device may be accomplished asfollows. Edge device 411 may have an endpoint uniform resource indicator(URI) that is installed in the factory. In some examples, on firstpower-up and first boot-up, edge device 411 is cryptographicallyguaranteed to connect to provisioning service 415 and not elsewhere.Also, edge device 411 may store identity information about itself aswell as optional metadata, e.g., geolocation metadata. Further,provisioning service 415 may have some method to verify the identity ofedge device 411.

The source used to verify the identity of IoT device 411 may provideprovisioning service 415 with additional metadata. Provisioning service415 may also contain rules and/or a rule engine used to route an edgedevice's provisioning request to the correct IoT support solution. Forexample, one rule may include a definition that all edge devices withina certain geographic region are to be provisioned to an IoT solutionlocated in a certain region. Provisioning service 415 may be configuredwith information regarding how to connect a device to one or moreseparate IoT support solutions.

After provisioning service 415 selects an IoT support service 451 foredge device 411, provisioning service 411 may send a request to registerto IoT support service 451. The request to may include connectioninformation associated with gateway device 411. IoT support service 451may then register each module in edge device 411 in a registry in IoTsupport service 451. In some examples as part of the registration, IoTsupport service 451 creates a separate identifier for each module inedge device 411. These identifiers may be used by components of IoTsupport service 451 to map secure communication channels between the IoTsupport service and the corresponding modules.

In some examples, next, cryptographic information about edge device 411is communicated from IoT support service 451 to provisioning service415, and in turn the cryptographic information about edge device 411 iscommunicated from provisioning service 415 to edge device 411. As partof this communication, IoT support service 451 may queue commands foredge device 411, or queue commands to be sent for edge device 411 tosubsequently complete. In one example, this completes the provisioningprocess. The cryptographic information may also include credentials, thehostname of the selected IoT support service 451, connectivityinformation for edge device 411 to connect with IoT support service 451,and/or the like. In other examples, the provisioning process completesin some other manner.

After provisioning is complete, in some examples, communications betweenedge device 411 and IoT support service 451 may occur directly and/or ina “normal” fashion (or through gateway devices, but not throughprovisioning service 415). In some examples, provisioning service 415 isnot again involved in communications between edge device 411 and IoTsupport service 451, unless, for example, edge device 411 is to bere-provisioned.

In some examples, edge device 411 sends an initial message to IoTsupport service 451, such as a welcome packet or the like, and IoTsupport service 451 returns a message to edge device 411 with steps thatedge device 411 is to follow before edge device 411 may begin sendingdata to IoT support service 451. Such steps may include, for example,updating the firmware of edge device 411, changing a configuration file,and/or the like.

In some examples, edge device 411 retains cryptographic memory ofprovisioning service 415 and can be redirected to provisioning service415 during the lifetime of edge device 411 in order to re-provision edgedevice 411. In some examples, certain events may cause edge device 411to initiate re-provisioning, such as edge device 411 being resold, achange in geographical regions, or the like.

In some examples, module twins in IoT support service 451 each have acorresponding module and act as virtual representations of the module towhich they correspond. Modules twins may store information about themodule, including properties of the module, and of the device that themodule is in where relevant. A module twin may include the type ofmodule, type of device that the module is in where relevant to themodule, various properties of the module and various relevant propertiesof the device that the module is in, capabilities of the module, and/orthe like. The exact properties stored in the module twin may depend onthe type of module. For example, a temperature sensor module of a devicemay store the current temperature as determined by the module. A moduletwin associated with the function of a smart device may store thestatus—for example, whether a smart lock is locked or unlocked, whethera smart light is on or off, and/or the like. At least a portion of theinformation in the module twin may be synchronized based on the moduleby updating the information in the module twin based on the module.Also, information in the module twin may be queryable.

In some examples, module twins may include at least tags and properties.In some examples, the properties may include reported properties anddesired properties.

In some examples, reported properties indicate the properties of themodule as reported to the IoT support service. For example, for an IoTdevice that is a lock, the module twin associated with a module for thelocking function of the smart lock may have a corresponding propertyindicating whether the reported status is locked or unlocked. In someexamples, a desired property indicates the status that the property thatthe actual device should have at that time. The desired property may bethe same as or different than the reported property. If the desiredproperty is different than the corresponding reported property, actionsmay be taken to resolve the discrepancy.

Some devices may not always be connected, and may instead, for example,connect to the network only a few times per day, or in the case of anerror. In these example, data may be buffered locally, and a specificevent may trigger a connection and a data upload. Modules twins may thenupdate when a connection occurs. Accordingly, in the case of anintermittently connecting device, a module twin may not be up-to-dateuntil a connection occurs.

In some examples, the IoT support service can deploy modules to edgedevices. The deployment may be done for a number of different reasons.For example, modules may be deployed to configure applications on edgedevices based on circumstances, to add new functionality to existingedge devices, for the deployment of applications on new edge devices,and/or the like.

For example, modules may be deployed to configure applications on edgedevices based on circumstances. For example, it may be determined that aconsiderable amount of telemetry is coming from a particular IoT devicethat connects to the IoT support service through a gateway. In response,the IoT support service could deploy a module to the gateway thataggregates the telemetry data. The IoT support service could also oralternately deploy an analytics module to the gateway, where theanalytics module performs analytics on the telemetry data, so that theanalytics can be done at the gateway rather than sending all of thetelemetry data to the cloud. Accordingly, deploying modules to edgedevices may be used to configure applications on edge devices on anas-needed or other basis.

Deployment of modules can also be used to add new functionality to anexisting edge device. For example, artificial intelligence can be addedto an existing edge device. As another example, a thermostat may havebeen previously adjustable by voice commands, and remotely adjustable,e.g., over a network. The IoT support service could add deploy a machinelearning module to the themostat, e.g., so that the themostat couldadjust itself based on machine learning. Similarly, IoT support servicecould deploy a facial recognition module to a camera that did notpreviously have facial recognition capabilities. If a room contained (1)a connected device capable of receiving voice commands, and (2)connected devices without native voice capability, the IoT supportservice could provide modules to the connected device without nativevoice capability and thus enable that connected devices to respond tovoice commands.

Deployment of modules can also be used for new edge devices. When a newedge device is provisioned, or placed into a particular environment forthe first time, the IoT support service may detect the edge device, and,in response, deploy the modules appropriate for the environment in whichnew edge device is placed. For example, if the motion sensors in aparticular room are configured in a certain way with certain module, anda new motion sensor is placed in the room, the IoT support service canconfigure the new motion sensor with modules similar to the othermotions sensors in the room.

In this way, edge devices need not include any code other than that forprovisioning and responding to deployment instructions from the IoTsupport service. The edge devices need not have any code for performingtheir particular functions and/or have any IoT functionality, untilafter the code is caused to be deployed thereto by the IoT supportservice. In this way, a customer can buy a “vanilla” connected devicethat does not include code for performing the “intended” functions ofthe device. Instead, in some examples, the edge device will connect tocloud, and the IoT support service will deploy the modules for suchfunctionality to the edge device.

The IoT support service may indirectly deploy the modules to the edgedevices, in some examples. For instance, the IoT solution may send, tothe edge device to which the modules are to be deployed, a command todownload the modules from a module repository. In other examples, theIoT support service may directly send the modules to the edge device.For example, module repository 419 may be omitted from some systems. Inother examples, the IoT support service may send, to the edge device towhich the modules are to be deployed, a command to download the modulesfrom a module repository, such as module repository 419 of FIG. 4.

When deploying modules, in some examples, the IoT support servicedetermines one or more modules to be deployed and identifies edge deviceto which to deploy the determined modules. The IoT support service maythen cause the determined modules to be deployed to the identified edgedevice. The IoT support service may also update the module twins basedon the deployed modules, so that each of the deployed modules has acorresponding module twin stored in the IoT support service.

In some examples, the deployment of modules to the edge devices isdriven by the cloud. In some examples, the IoT support service itselfdrives the deployment of the modules to the edge devices. In someexamples, deployment of the modules may be based on rules in the IoTsupport service, and in other examples, the set of modules required inparticular edge devices may be determined by an IoT solution operatorand communicated to the IoT support service. The IoT support servicecould then deploy the modules accordingly. In other examples, a back-endapplication in the application back-end may drive deployment of modulesto the edge devices.

Cloud deployment of modules to edge devices may have many benefits,including re-use of code. Some functionality may be re-used across manydifferent solution and types of devices. For example, the sameartificial intelligence module may be re-usable across many types ofsolutions and/or across many types of edge devices. Similarly, the sameanalytics module may be reusable across many types of solutions and/oracross many types of edge devices. In these examples, the same modulewith the same code can be deployed to many different edge devices, whichmay include different types of edge devices, without requiringmodification of the code in the modules deployed or in the other modulesalready present in the edge devices to which the modules are deployed.

In some examples, cloud-initiated modifications of applications in edgedevices may be performed by the IoT support service. In some examples,the modifications of applications in edge devices can be made in one ormore modules of the edge device, without requiring re-deployment of theentire application. Modifications may include updates, configurations,and/or the like.

In this way, configurations can be changed independently. For example,if changing the analytics portion of an application on an edge device isrequired, the IoT support service can cause the module that controls theanalytics to be updated, so that a specific configuration on theanalytics module can be changed without having to re-deploy the entireedge application.

In some examples, for certain functionality such as artificialintelligence (AI) or facial recognition, training may be done in thecloud, while the model obtained from the training may be deployed to theedge device. In some examples, if the model is updated, the IoT supportservice can cause the model in the AI to be changed, while modifyingonly the AI model and not requiring the entire application to bere-deployed.

In some examples, the IoT support service may receive a declarativerequest or the like from the application back-end. In some examples, thedeclarative request can be decomposed into individual configurationsthat are sent to edge devices. In some examples, the individualconfigurations are executed by the edge device, and have the effect ofconfiguring how the edge device sends telemetry data. In some examples,the individual configuration are not limited to just telemetry data, andinstead the code of one or more modules in the edge device can bemodified in any suitable manner.

After the IoT device decomposes the declarative request into individualconfigurations, the destination edge devices associated with theconfiguration may be identified. For example, a declarative request maybe a request to provide an alert when a particular face is identified ina particular building. The request may be broken down into individualconfigurations that will modify particular facial recognition modules inparticular edge devices.

In some examples, the declarative request received by the IoT supportservice from the application back-end already contains the decomposedapplication. In some of these examples, the IoT support service need notdecompose the declarative request, because the declarative request isalready decomposed into individual configurations.

In some examples, the particular edge device(s) for which the modulewill be modified are identified. In some examples, the edge devices areidentified in a declarative way in the declarative request. Next, theconfigurations may be communicated to the identified edge device(s).Upon receiving the configurations, the identified edge device mayproceed to update the relevant module(s) based on the receivedconfigurations.

As discussed above with regard to module deployments, the IoT supportservice may indirectly deploy updates to the modules to the edgedevices, in some examples, and in other examples, the IoT supportservice may send, to the edge device to which the modules are to beupdated, a command to download the new code for the module from a modulerepository, such as module repository 419 of FIG. 4.

In some examples, some processing, intelligence, and/or computationoccurring in the IoT support service may be offloaded to edge devices bychanging one or more services in the IoT support service into one ormore modules which may then be deployed to edge devices.

While it may be advantageous to have some functionality in the cloud, itmay also be advantageous to have some functionality in the edge.Processing in the edge may be advantageous for low-latency tight controlloops that require or benefit from real-time/near real-time response.Processing on the edge can be advantageous for reasons of privacy andconfidentiality of data, and for protecting against the inherentunpredictability of the public internet. IoT services can still bemanaged from the cloud while offloading particular processing to theedge where it is advantageous to do so. The ability to movefunctionality from the cloud to the edge may also enable increasedflexibility.

In some examples, an entire cloud service (e.g., one of services471-473) may be converted into a module (e.g., one of modules 431-433)to be deployed to edge devices (e.g., edge device 411), and the cloudservice may cease execution once the modules are operating on the edgedevices. In some examples, a portion of a cloud service may betransformed into a new module, or be added as new code to an existingmodule, which may used to modify existing modules in edge devices asdiscussed above with regard to cloud-initiated modifications of modulesin edge devices. In these examples, the remaining portion of the cloudservice may still execute.

When it is determined which edge devices are to have which modules,including modules that may have previously been cloud services, ahierarchy of edge devices may be used. For example, the hierarchy may bebased on location, or particular categories of devices withinhierarchical locations. For example, the location of an IoT device maybe defined by city, building, floor, and room.

In this example, “city” is the top level of the location hierarchy. Inthis example, underneath “city” in the location hierarchy is building.In this example, every IoT device in a particular building is also inthe city in which the building resides. Similarly, in this example,every IoT device on a particular floor belongs to the building in whichthe floor resides and in the city in which the building resides.Similarly, in this example, every IoT device in a particular roombelongs to the floor in which the room resides, and so forth. In thisway, in this example, the location metadata is hierarchical. In thisexample, when the room in which the IoT device resides is assigned, thenbased on how the hierarchical category is defined, the floor, building,and city are also defined.

In this way, for example, all of the temperature sensors in a particularbuilding may have a particular module. A particular cloud service couldbe offloaded to the edge by making the cloud service a module to bedeployed on the edge, and this module could be deployed, for example, onall temperature sensor in a particular building. At the time ofoffloading, the module can be deployed to each temperature sensor in thebuilding. The deployment may be a long-standing deployment in someexamples, so that, when a new temperature sensor is placed in thisbuilding, the module can automatically be deployed to the temperaturesensor.

Hierarchies may also be based on categories other than location, such asfunctionality and/or device type. For example, all devices that collectdata could be one level of a hierarchy, for which certain modules couldbe deployed to all such devices, and this hierarchy could be subdividedfurther based on particular hierarchical categories of data beinggathered. A device that gathers a particular type of data may have aparticular type of module deployed to the device in some examples.

For instance, in some examples, AI training may be done in the cloud,and the model may be changed from service to a module that is deployedto the edge. The module could be deployed to all relevant edge devicesin building 44.

In this way, edge devices for which module(s) are to be deployed may bedetermined based on at the determined position of the edge devices onthe hierarchy. For instance, as discussed above, a particular module maybe deployed to all temperature sensors in building 43. As also discussedabove, in some examples, such a deployment may be longstanding, so that,for example, if a temperature sensor lacking the particular module isactivated in building 43, the particular module may be automaticallydeployed to the temperature sensor.

Offloading certain functionality from the cloud to the edge may beuseful in, for example, the optimization of production lines in amanufacturing plant. In some examples, production lines are composed ofmultiple machines, each containing many sensors, producing thousands ofdata points per second. These sensors may emit a large amount oftelemetry data such as temperature, humidity, motor speed, etc., but mayalso produce complex data such as machine diagnostics maps, machinestate, audio or video data. Further, in some examples, these data pointsare analyzed to extract information about individual machine health, butalso aggregated at the production line level to report and optimizeproduction yields. In some examples, requirements of low latency,conservation of network bandwidth and preservation of privacy makes itadvantageous to perform computing and processing as close to the sensorsas possible, and at the same time aggregation at the production linelevel for aggregate analysis and control.

Offloading certain functionality from the cloud to the edge may also beuseful in smart buildings. Sensor technology may be used to conserveenergy, performing simple tasks such as automatically turning the lightson and off when someone enters or leaves a room. Passive infraredsensors (PIRs), simple photocells, and carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors mayenable these tasks. Field Gateways may be used in buildings to allowcommunication of building automation and control systems forapplications such as heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC)control, lighting control, access control, and fire detection systemsand their associated equipment.

Building automation technology typically mostly relies on conventionalrule-based systems in which human programmers do the ‘heavy lifting’ ofrule creation and modification. These systems, often deployed in onpremise server solutions, may become fragile as they evolve and multiplelayers of rule patches form to account for a myriad of new ruleexceptions. In contrast, in some examples, smart building solutions mayenable the capability to source and analyze richer levels of data,enabling the execution of more sophisticated tasks that go far beyondenergy consumption management. In some examples, a smart building knowshow space is used at every single moment, how many people are in eachroom, how long the lunch line is in the café, where is a free desk, howto adjust the environment to the personalized comfort preferences of anindividual, and/or the like. This awareness may translate into a morecost-effective and comfortable working environment for the buildingoccupants.

In some examples, a decentralized architecture of building automationmay be used where analytics can run local on edge devices, instead of inthe cloud or on a central server. Energy-efficient embedded processorsmay afford the ability to process analytics inside the sensor unititself, or run advanced analytics within local field gateways. In someexamples, with this approach, the data sent over the network can bemerely the final summary of the analysis, which is thinner in volume,and allows shorter response time.

By lifting the burden of defining effective rules from the human expertsand transferring them to the algorithm, data-driven Machine Learningsystems may be excellent tools for rich data analysis, particularly whenemploying more advanced sensor solutions or cameras at the sensinglayer. Deep Learning may be used in many Machine Learning domains,especially Vision, Speech, and Natural Language Processing andUnderstanding, as well as sensor fusion scenarios involved in makingbuildings smart. With Deep Learning, the algorithm may define anend-to-end computation—from the raw sensor data all the way to the finaloutput. In some examples, in this model, the algorithm itself determineswhat the correct features are and how to compute them. This may resultin a much deeper, more complex level of computation. In some examples,such algorithms execute on edge devices to ensure real-time results insome of the scenarios outlined above.

Although particular examples of applications of offloading particularprocessing from the cloud to the edge are discussed above, thedisclosure is not limited to the particular example applicationsdiscussed above. Offloading particular processing from the cloud to theedge may also be useful in other suitable applications, such asconnected vehicles as one examples. For instance, offloading particularprocessing from the cloud to the edge may be used for fleet ortransportation logistics managements using a gateway module in thevehicle for coordination and data aggregation of additional devices,and/or for Advanced Driving Assisted Systems (ADAS).

As an example of offloading a cloud service as a module to edge devices,a use case is given here where sensor data (example temperature data) isaggregated in a stream analytics module (a custom logic module works aswell).

Then, in this example, if the average in the last 10 minutes is above athreshold:

-   -   A Function is invoked (which calls a direct method on the device        to shut it down); and    -   A message is sent to a Service Bus Q, which is then processed by        Logic apps to create a ticket.

In this example, in this flow:

-   -   Devices send d2c messages using an IoT software development kit        (SDK) with a property type=‘temp’    -   IoT Hub routes: type=‘temp’→stream analytics job 1    -   stream analytics job 1:        -   Performs query:        -   SELECT DeviceId, AVG(temp) AS [Avg]        -   INTO shutdownFunction, alertQueue        -   FROM input TIMESTAMP BY Time        -   GROUP BY DeviceId, TumblingWindow(minute, 10)        -   HAVING [Avg]>100        -   Outputs:            -   shutdownFunction is configured to go to a Function                shutdown( )            -   alertQueue is configured to go to a service bus (SB)                queue alertQueue

In this example, the volume of data that is flowing to the cloud may betoo large such that the solution owner wants to move parts of this flowin the edge devices, specifically: the stream analytics job and theshutdown function.

In this example, in the migrated flow:

-   -   The sensor module may look exactly like the device app in the        previous flow, sending d2c messages with: type=‘temp’    -   The stream analytics module is configured with a job executing        the same query. The only different behavior is that stream        analytics uses the runtime routing to route to an output        endpoint instead of its own. A possible way to do this is by        adding a special property called ASA_output (stream analytics        already required named outputs in the cloud).    -   The function simply awaits incoming messages (with the same        stream analytics format as in the previous flow) and calls a        direct method on the local device using the local IoT Hub SDK        without code changes.    -   The edge runtime is configured to route:        -   type=‘temp’→stream analytics job 1        -   ASA_analytics_output=‘shutdownFunction’→Function shutdown( )        -   ASA_output=‘alertQueue’→cloud            -   IoT Hub routes:        -   ASA_output=‘alertQueue’→SB queue alertQueue

In this example, there is virtually no code changes. In this example:

Initial flow Migrated flow Delta Sensor Send D2C message with Send D2Cmessage with Identical data type = ‘temp’ type = ‘temp’ Route to IoT Hubroute: Runtime route: Superficial stream type = ‘temp’→ stream type =‘temp’→ stream difference analytics analytics job 1 analytics job 1stream SELECT DeviceId, SELECT DeviceId, Identical analytics AVG(temp)AS [Avg] AVG(temp) AS [Avg] query INTO shutdownFunction, INTOshutdownFunction, alertQueue alertQueue FROM input TIMESTAMP FROM inputTIMESTAMP BY Time BY Time GROUP BY DeviceId, GROUP BY DeviceId,TumblingWindow(minute, 10) TumblingWindow(minute, 10) HAVING [Avg] > 100HAVING [Avg] > 100 stream stream analytics Runtime configured to:Superficial analytics configured to: ASA_output = difference outputshutdownFunction → ‘shutdownFunction’ → Function shutdown( ) Functionshutdown( ) alertQueue → SB ASA_output = ‘alertQueue’ → queue alertQueuecloud IoT Hub configured to: ASA_output = ‘alertQueue’ → SB queueIllustrative Processes

For clarity, the processes described herein are described in terms ofoperations performed in particular sequences by particular devices orcomponents of a system. However, it is noted that other processes arenot limited to the stated sequences, devices, or components. Forexample, certain acts may be performed in different sequences, inparallel, omitted, or may be supplemented by additional acts orfeatures, whether or not such sequences, parallelisms, acts, or featuresare described herein. Likewise, any of the technology described in thisdisclosure may be incorporated into the described processes or otherprocesses, whether or not that technology is specifically described inconjunction with a process. The disclosed processes may also beperformed on or by other devices, components, or systems, whether or notsuch devices, components, or systems are described herein. Theseprocesses may also be embodied in a variety of ways. For example, theymay be embodied on an article of manufacture, e.g., asprocessor-readable instructions stored in a processor-readable storagemedium or be performed as a computer-implemented process. As analternate example, these processes may be encoded asprocessor-executable instructions and transmitted via a communicationsmedium.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process (580) for IoTtechnology, that may be performed, e.g., by an IoT support service, suchas the IoT support service of FIG. 3 and/or FIG. 4.

In the illustrated example, step 581 occurs first. At step 581, in someexamples, a plurality of module twins that respectively correspond to aplurality of modules of edge applications on a plurality of edge devicesare stored. In some examples, the plurality of module twins individuallyinclude metadata associated with the corresponding module of theplurality of modules. As shown, step 582 occurs next in some examples.At step 582, in some examples, a plurality of services is executed, suchthat the services of the plurality of services are configured tocommunicate with the modules of the plurality of modules.

As shown, step 583 occurs next in some examples. At step 583, in someexamples, at least one service to be executed as a further module on atleast one edge device of the plurality of edge devices is determined. Asshown, step 584 occurs next in some examples. At step 584, in someexamples, the further module is caused to be deployed to the at leastone edge device of the plurality of edge devices. As shown, step 585occurs next in some examples. At step 585, in some examples, executionof the determined at least one service is ceased. The process may thenproceed to a return block, where other processing is resume.

CONCLUSION

While the above Detailed Description describes certain examples of thetechnology, and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter howdetailed the above appears in text, the technology can be practiced inmany ways. Details may vary in implementation, while still beingencompassed by the technology described herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the technology should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects with which that terminology is associated. Ingeneral, the terms used in the following claims should not be construedto limit the technology to the specific examples disclosed herein,unless the Detailed Description explicitly defines such terms.Accordingly, the actual scope of the technology encompasses not only thedisclosed examples, but also all equivalent ways of practicing orimplementing the technology.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: an IoT support service, includingat least one memory adapted to store run-time data for the device, andat least one processor that is adapted to execute processor-executablecode that, in response to execution, enables the IoT support service toperform actions that enable cloud-to-edge offloading, the actionsincluding: storing, in the cloud, a plurality of module twins thatrespectively correspond to a plurality of modules of edge applicationson a plurality of edge devices, wherein the plurality of module twinsindividually include metadata associated with the corresponding moduleof the plurality of modules, and wherein the edge devices of theplurality of edge devices have hierarchical categorizations by which theplurality of edge devices are organized according to at least onehierarchical category such that each hierarchical category of the atleast one hierarchical category includes at least two hierarchicallevels; executing a plurality of services in the cloud, such that theservices of the plurality of services are configured to communicate withthe modules of the plurality of modules; determining at least oneservice of the plurality of services to be executed as a further moduleon at least one edge device of the plurality of edge devices based, atleast in part, on the hierarchical categorization of the at least oneedge device of the plurality of edge devices; causing the further moduleto be deployed to the at least one edge device of the plurality of edgedevices; and ceasing execution of the determined at least one service.2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one service of theplurality of services includes at least one of an analytics services, aportable translation services, a logic service, a telemetry componentsservice, a module management service, a filtering service, a batchingservice, a compression service, a machine learning service, or anartificial intelligence service.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, whereincausing the further module to be deployed to the at least one edgedevice of the plurality of edge devices includes instructing the atleast one edge device of the plurality of edge devices to download thefurther module from a module depository.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the modules of the plurality of modules are capable of beingused interoperably with other modules without altering the othermodules.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, the actions further includingenabling communications between the modules of the plurality of modulesand the IoT support service according to a common security context. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, the actions further including synchronizingthe metadata of each module twin of the plurality of module twins basedon the corresponding module.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the atleast one edge device of the plurality of edge devices is determinedbased on a determined position of the edge device in at least onehierarchical category of the at least one hierarchical category of theplurality of edge devices.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, the actionsfurther including automatically deploying the further module to edgedevices lacking the determined further module that become part of thedetermined position in the at least one hierarchical category of the atleast one hierarchical category of the plurality of edges devices. 9.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one hierarchical categoryof the at least one hierarchical category of the plurality of edgedevices includes at least one of a hierarchy of locations.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one service isdetermined based at least in part on at least one circumstance that isassociated with telemetry that is received by at least one edge deviceof the plurality of edge devices.
 11. A method for cloud-to-edgeoffloading, comprising: storing, in the cloud, a plurality of moduletwins that respectively correspond to a plurality of modules of edgeapplications on a plurality of edge devices, wherein the plurality ofmodule twins individually include metadata associated with thecorresponding module of the plurality of modules, and wherein the edgedevices of the plurality of edge devices have hierarchicalcategorizations by which the plurality of edge devices are organizedaccording to at least one hierarchical category such that eachhierarchical category of the at least one hierarchical category includesat least two hierarchical levels; using at least one processor toexecute a plurality of services in the cloud, such that the services ofthe plurality of services are configured to communicate with the modulesof the plurality of modules; determining at least one service of theplurality of services for which at least a portion of the service is tobe executed as a further module on at least one edge device of theplurality of edge devices based, at least in part, on the hierarchicalcategorization of the at least one edge device of the plurality of edgedevices; and deploying the further module to the at least one edgedevice of the plurality of edge devices.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein at least one service of the plurality of services includes atleast one of an analytics services, a portable translation services, alogic service, a telemetry components service, a module managementservice, a filtering service, a batching service, a compression service,a machine learning service, or an artificial intelligence service. 13.The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one edge device of theplurality of edge devices is determined based on a determined positionof the edge device in at least one hierarchical category of the at leastone hierarchical category of the plurality of edge devices.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising automatically deploying thefurther module to edge devices lacking the determined further modulethat become part of the determined position in at least one hierarchicalcategory of the at least one hierarchical category of the plurality ofedges devices.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the hierarchy of edgedevices includes at least one of a hierarchy of locations or at leastone hierarchical category of the at least one hierarchical category ofthe plurality of edge device type.
 16. A processor-readable storagemedium, having stored thereon processor-executable code for computernetwork design, that, upon execution by at least one processor, enablesactions that enable cloud-to-edge offloading, comprising: storing, inthe cloud, a plurality of module twins that respectively correspond to aplurality of modules of edge applications on a plurality of edgedevices, wherein the plurality of module twins individually includemetadata associated with the corresponding module of the plurality ofmodules, and wherein the edge devices of the plurality of edge deviceshave hierarchical categorizations by which the plurality of edge devicesare organized according to at least one hierarchical category such thateach hierarchical category of the at least one hierarchical categoryincludes at least two hierarchical levels; running a plurality ofservices, in the cloud, such that the services of the plurality ofservices are configured to communicate with the modules of the pluralityof modules; identifying at least one service of the plurality ofservices for which at least a portion of the service is to be executedas a further module on at least one edge device of the plurality of edgedevices based, at least in part, on the hierarchical categorization ofthe at least one edge device of the plurality of edge devices; andcausing the further module to be sent to the at least one edge device ofthe plurality of edge devices.
 17. The processor-readable storage mediumof claim 16, wherein at least one service of the plurality of servicesincludes at least one of an analytics services, a portable translationservices, a logic service, a telemetry components service, a modulemanagement service, a filtering service, a batching service, acompression service, a machine learning service, or an artificialintelligence service.
 18. The processor-readable storage medium of claim16, wherein the at least one edge device of the plurality of edgedevices is identified based on a determined position of the edge devicein at least one hierarchical category of the at least one hierarchicalcategory of the plurality of edge devices.
 19. The processor-readablestorage medium of claim 18, the actions further including automaticallydeploying the further module to edge devices lacking the determinedfurther module that become part of the determined position in at leastone hierarchical category of the at least one hierarchical category ofthe plurality of edges devices.
 20. The processor-readable storagemedium of claim 18, wherein at least one hierarchical category of the atleast one hierarchical category of the plurality of edge devicesincludes at least one of a hierarchy of locations or a hierarchy of edgedevice type.